


the universe was made to be seen by your eyes

by BensCalligraphySet



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But Rey has a Ben which is better than a hug, F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Pining, Rey Needs A Hug, Soft Ben Solo, inaccurate science probably, they're soft your honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:49:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23055010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BensCalligraphySet/pseuds/BensCalligraphySet
Summary: “Tell me a truth.”“I wasn’t supposed to be in that Intro to Philosophy class, but I stayed because you were there.” He pauses. “Tell me a lie.”“I didn’t call in a favor with the TA to let you stay even though the class was full.”or: the one where the only thing Ben Solo studies harder than his Physics book, is Rey Johnson.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 155
Kudos: 713
Collections: Galactic Idiots Collection





	the universe was made to be seen by your eyes

_ “We are stars wrapped in skin. The light you are seeking has always been within.”  _ Rumi

“What's your favorite philosophical theory?” Ben asks.

It’s the night of the autumnal equinox. Summer is waving its goodbye, but the air is still comfortably warm, the sky clear, alight with a multitude of stars.They’re sprawled out on a thick, checkered picnic blanket that was stolen from the props room of the University’s theatre department at some point, either by Poe or Finn. 

Ben glances at Rey. They’re close, his arm flush against hers, their bodies lined up perfectly. She’s looking up at the sky, eyes lost in the constellations. Ben has an unobstructed view of her profile: bright hazel eyes curtained by long, delicate lashes; a pointed, elegant nose; a stubborn, imperious chin; soft, pink lips. She licks them, just then, and he stares. He’s always staring — it’s a problem, maybe. 

“That’s a tough question.” Rey traps her bottom lip between her teeth, brow furrowed. “Hmm, I suppose there are elements I like about each one, but Presentism might be my favorite.”

“I don't think I know that one.” 

“It's the idea that time can be divided into past, present and future, but the past and the future are imagined concepts, and only the present is real.”

Ben remains quiet, scrutinizing her words. His silence weighs on Rey, who blushes under his gaze. He clears his throat, turning away to look at the stars instead. “And why is that?”

“I guess it's because I like the idea that only the person you are now matters.” She pauses, hesitant. “And there's also something very freeing in not having to worry about who you’ll be in the future. It forces you to live in the moment. But what do I know, uh?” 

Her tone is dismissive, but he knows her well enough to understand the way she hides her real feelings behind a wall of feigned disinterest. It’s a safety mechanism, one he recognizes all too well.

Ben frowns. “Your ideas matter, Rey. Someday, people will line up to hear you talk about life and fate and all the messy bits in between.”

Rey places her hand on top of his and her eyes drop down to his lips for a moment. It’s fleeting, but it doesn’t escape his notice. Nothing about her does. She gives his hand a gentle squeeze and he wants nothing more than to flip his and loop their fingers together. Rey smiles and it’s the kind of smile that could heal the universe, Ben is sure of it. 

“Tell me a truth.”

It’s a game they’ve had going since they met — a truth and a lie. It can range from silly things like,  _ I like the color green  _ to _ I have trouble sleeping at night.  _ There are no rules, apart from total honesty: Rey always asks for a truth; Ben always prompts a lie.

“I lied this morning when I told you I invited Tai to come tonight.”

“It’s cute that you think I didn’t already know that,” she teases.

Ben rolls his eyes. “Your turn. Tell me a lie.”

“I hate doing this. Laying out here under the stars with you, thinking about the universe.” 

She says it like it’s no big deal. Like it doesn’t make his toes curl, or his heart skip a beat. He doesn’t know what to say to that, so he says nothing and averts his eyes. It’s self-preservation, really. 

Rey sits up and brushes a few stray blades of grass from her elbows. “It’s getting late.” 

“Wait.” His index finger curls around the loop of her belt, holding her in place. “Don’t go. Not just yet.”

She looks down at him, an apology ready on her lips, but something about his face must change her mind because she lays back down beside him. It seems impossible, but she’s even closer this time. Silence settles over them like a blanket.

“So tell me more about the stars,” Rey eventually asks.

“What do you want to know?”

She looks up at the sky — at the vast expanse of it, at the moon, planets and stars and the nebulae, galaxies and meteors, millions of light years away — then shifts to her side to face him and tucks her hands under her cheek, giving him her undivided attention. She’s so close, he can count the freckles that dot her face like constellations. 

Rey smiles. 

“Everything.

✨

Much like the stars in the night sky, some people shine brighter than others. Rey Johnson is iridescent. She blazed into Ben’s life like a cosmic storm; suddenly, and without warning.

The first time they saw each other was during class. Rey came into the room and sat two rows in front of him. How the back of someone’s head could hold his attention for as long as hers did, Ben doesn’t know, but he spent that hour studying her harder than he ever did any of his Physics books. She raised her hand to answer one of the TA’s questions and her accent was just another tally on the list of perfect attributes Ben was involuntarily keeping track of in his head. She smiled when she passed by him on her way to the door at the end of class, and that was that. 

They officially met via Poe Dameron, a laid back Music Theory major, who had seemingly befriended the entire freshman class within the space of a week. Back in their first year of college, Poe and Finn — his roommate — hosted the very first party of the semester, which Ben was passive aggressively bullied into attending, being Poe’s buddy from High School and therefore his oldest friend. That’s when he first saw her, and also when he accidentally hit her in the face with a ping pong ball (beer pong had since been removed from Ben Solo’s list of approved party games).

“Why Astrophysics?” Rey asks, an hour after they had retreated to a quiet spot in the back, both nursing drinks they hadn’t touched, too engrossed in conversation. 

Ben runs a hand through his hair. It’s a nervous habit, but she doesn’t know that about him yet. “My dad was a pilot. He took me out flying a lot when I was a kid.” Something in his chest tightens, the memory tugging on his core. “One time I looked up at the sky and asked him if we could fly all the way to the stars.”

“What did he say?”

Ben remembers it so clearly. “He said  _ ‘I can’t, kid. But maybe someday you will _ ’.” Han ruffled his hair and awarded him with a classic Solo smirk, and from that moment on, Ben knew what he was going to be when he grew up.

Rey’s smile is kind. “And now you will.” 

He nods and doesn’t let himself get choked up when he says, “And now I will.”

If Rey notices the shift in his mood, she doesn’t call him out on it, but there’s a warmth in her eyes that wasn’t there before. It’s a heavy look. Understanding. A touch of wistful, perhaps. It’s gone in a flash. 

“Are you here with anyone?” It’s casual, the way she asks it, but there’s an underlying hint of  _ something _ Ben can’t quite put his finger on. 

“No,” he replies. “No, just you.” 

“Cool.” Rey clears her throat. “Listen, I’m not. I don’t—”

Ben waits for her to finish. She peels the label of the beer bottle, eyes cast down. 

“I don’t do the dating thing.”

Whatever he expected her to say, that wasn’t it. He is unsure if she means she doesn’t date at all, or if she isn’t interested in dating  _ him _ and is trying to brush him off as kindly as possible. He swallows his disappointment and nods. 

“No, of course. I get it. I don’t either.” 

She looks up, surprised. Her eyes are so earnest, so expressive. 

“Oh. Okay. Friends, then?” 

Ben nods, because he’s known her for an hour but he is sure he wants to be in her life, in any capacity she’ll allow. 

“Friends.” 

They smile at each other, and that’s that. 

To this day, Ben and Rey argue over whether or not the incident that brought them together was a twist of fate. Rey, ever the philosopher, insists it was a happy accident, based on the choices they made that day — serendipity at its finest — while astrophysicist Ben knows that in a quantum universe, there is no such thing as accidents, only possibilities and probabilities folded into existence by perception.

At a glance, they are very different people - Ben is a scientist who searches for the uncompromising truth; Rey is an idealist who chooses to accept that there are many different versions of the truth. Somehow, they clicked, and instead of butting heads, they complement each other. Sometimes Ben needs a healthy dose of idealism; sometimes Rey needs to be brought back down to earth. 

Like a cosmic storm, on the night they met their two individual galaxies smashed into one another to form a single galactic structure.They’ve been inseparable ever since.

Friends. The best of friends. Depressingly, torturously — to Ben, at least — just friends. 

And that’s that. 

✨

“Tell me a truth.”

“I wasn’t supposed to be in that Intro to Philosophy class, but I stayed because you were there.” He pauses. “Tell me a lie.”

“I didn’t call in a favor with the TA to let you stay even though the class was full.”

✨

They’ve been holed up in Rey’s dorm room for the better part of the day, going over study notes for their upcoming exams — hers, ethics; his, astronomy — when she decides they’ve done enough studying and closes her book, turning her attention to Ben. He shifts, adjusting his body. Rey’s sheets are wrinkled under him and he tries - and fails - to smooth some of the creases. 

“I don’t know why you insist on taking the bed. There’s no way that’s a comfortable position,” Rey comments, waving a hand at the way Ben is hunched over his books, half of his body hanging off the small single bed.

“It’s your room, you get the desk.” 

Rey rolls her eyes. “Such a gentleman, Solo. Don’t come crying to me when your back starts killing you.”

“The least you could do is offer to rub it.” 

It earns him an amused snort from Rey. He can feel himself starting to blush as soon as he says it and buries his face in his notebook before she has a chance to notice. 

“Okay,” she replies.

Ben looks up — and finds her already staring at him, a mischievous grin stretching the corners of her mouth upwards.

“I…”

“Rey-bae!” 

Kaydel Connix storms into Rey’s room. Sighing morosely, Ben resigns himself to the fact that his peace and quiet has come to an abrupt end.

“Benji,” she says by way of greeting, pushing his legs to the side unceremoniously and perching herself on Rey’s bed. 

Of all their friends, Kaydel is the most vivacious and the one who insists on making Ben’s life hell — usually by making salacious comments about his friendship with Rey and refusing to take a hint when both of them attempt to shoot her down with a stern look. 

“Remember that time I pretended to be your lesbian lover to help you get rid of the crusty asshole who was hitting on you at that bar downtown?”

Rey’s eyes narrow. “Yes…”

Ben sits up, frowning. “Wow, wow, wow. Who… what?” 

Kaydel ignores him. “I need a favor.”

“Should I be worried?”

“Hold on, this guy…” Ben interrupts, only to be shushed by Kaydel.

“It’s about Gwen Phasma. You guys work together at the fitness center, right?”

Rey rolls her eyes. “I should have known. I thought you were done hating her.”

“I don't hate her  _ per se _ ,” Kaydel shrugs. “I just hope her next period happens in a shark tank.”

Rey snorts. “Oh, so you're gal pals?”

“Look, I need you to tell your co-worker to cease and desist on her pursuit of Poe. He and I have unfinished business which requires his full attention.” 

Ben frowns. “I thought you were with Jannah.”

“I am.  _ Casually _ . But things with Poe are still very much in progress.”

“Why can't you just pick the one you like best?” Ben asks, ignoring Rey’s pointed look.

“As if it were that simple! My feelings for both Jannah and Poe are  _ complex _ and not so easily compartmentalized,” she huffs, flipping her long, blond hair over her shoulder.

“Sounds tiring. I can't imagine having that many  _ feelings _ .”

Kaydel shoots him a scathing smile. “Really?That’s surprising, considering you’re basically a brooding mountain of—” her eyes shift meaningfully to Rey “ _ —feelings _ .”

Rey’s look is murderous.

“You don’t need to worry,” he interjects.

“Oh?”

“Gwen’s been dating Rose.”

Kaydel’s entire demeanor visibly changes as a smile unfurls on her elegant face. “That's excellent news!” 

Satisfied with the happy turn of events, she stands up, brushing invisible lint off her skirt. She gives Ben and Rey an appraising look before adding, “I better get going, then. I’ll leave you two to… whatever it is you were doing.” 

She leaves the room as quickly as she came in, with a cursory wave and a cheerful  _ As you were _ ! thrown over her shoulder. Rey watches her go with a sigh.

“How does she always have so much energy?”

“I hear she's on the Paleo diet,” Ben shrugs. “You'd be surprised by what regular bowel movements can do for a person’s disposition.”

He laughs when Rey throws a pillow at his head.

✨

“Tell me a truth.”

“My parents have the shittiest communications skills I’ve ever seen. They drive each other mad,” he scoffs. “Tell me a lie.”

He can barely hear her when she says, “Mine loved me.” 

✨

“Do you think life is measured in days?” Rey asks, taking a bite out of Ben’s uneaten sandwich and chewing slowly. 

They’re sitting under the ancient oak tree on the edge of the lawn that faces the campus courtyard. Around them, groups of students are sprawled out on the grass, enjoying the last dregs of sunshine and warmth before autumn turns cold and crisp. Ben has his head on Rey’s lap and is holding her study notes, handing them to her as she reads. 

“How else would you measure it?”

Rey is startled by his response, almost like she’d been speaking to herself and hadn't expected Ben to be paying attention. Taking a moment to ponder her answer, she runs her hands through his thick hair and twirls a piece of around her finger. Ben leans into her touch, sighing. 

“The people you meet. The places you go. The moments you share with someone.”

Ben hums. “If you're asking for a scientific perspective on the meaning of life, well... the universe is dying. We’re part of its story, but we’re still careening down a one way road towards cosmic entropy. Five billion years from now, even the concept of life will be meaningless.”

Rey frowns, eyeing him critically. “That's a little fatalistic. Where’s the romance? The hope? Wasn't it one of your scientists who said, ‘ _ For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love _ ’— or something like that?”

Ben groans. “Seduce me with your Carl Sagan quotes, why don’t you.”

Chuckling, Rey pokes his cheek, right where it dimples when he smiles really wide. “I don't think you're as much of a cynic as you think you are.” 

Her lips curl into a lopsided grin. The look she gives him has a warm, fluttery feeling blooming in his belly and rising up to his throat. He swallows the urge to word vomit something stupid like,  _ you’re pretty when you smile _ . He’s powerless to stop his eyes from dipping to her mouth, though. Rey traps her bottom lip between her teeth, in a move that could almost be described as teasing — if Ben didn’t know better, that is.

“I don't think anyone's ever accused me of being a romantic before.”

Rey’s eyes soften. “That's because they don't know you.” She reaches out to touch his face, running a gentle finger over the bridge of his nose. His eyes flutter shut. “But I do.”

Ben’s pretty sure she’s leaning down — slowly, slowly, slowly — and he raises his hand in a lingering touch against her cheek. Just when Rey is close enough that Ben can see the flecks of green in her eyes, a voice interrupts them.

“Hey, Solo! What kind of songs do planets sing?” A beat later— “ _ Neptunes! _ ”

Rey snorts. They’re so close he can feel her breath tickling his face. She pulls away, looking up at Hux, who is still chortling as he makes his way across the courtyard.Ben groans, rolling out of her lap, face first onto the grass. 

“What if he was suddenly killed by falling space debris?” he muses. “What  _ If _ ?”

“What are the odds of that happening?”

“Roughly one in five billion.”

“I wouldn't hold my breath, then.”

Ben can’t see her, because his eyes are closed as he contemplates all the ways he can make Hux pay for being an incredibly annoying nuisance, but he can still hear the smile in her voice.

_ Fuck _ Hux.

✨

The student lounge is bursting with anxious students feverishly thumbing through books. With midterms around the corner, everybody flocks to the library, but the more informal lounge is where groups gather to study together. 

The large corner table they claimed for themselves is dotted with the evidence of an all-day cramming session: piles of books on Astrobiology and Planetary Science mixed together with candy wrappers; Rose and Hux’s colorful graphs under empty coffee cups and muffin liners; a Tupperware full of Ben’s homemade cinnamon waffles — a treat for Rey, who always does her best studying when she’s on a sugar rush. She’s sitting next to him, pouring over a textbook and scribbling down comments on the margins, her bun coming undone, stray pieces of wispy hair falling down her neck. 

Her scowl is almost comical. One of the first things Ben learned about her is that she tends to look angry when she’s concentrating. Finals are always brutal, and Rey takes the pressure harder than any of them — because she’s on a scholarship, because she feels like she has something to prove, because that’s just the way she is. 

He wants to help — lay a hand on her back and rub comforting circles, offer to go through her notes and ask questions— but he doesn’t know if she'd welcome the interruption, so he doesn’t. 

“Guys, I’m going to fail so hard,” Poe groans, dropping his head into his hands. His place is the messiest - papers scattered everywhere, guitar picks serving as makeshift bookmarks, a half-eaten Mars bar that smeared all over one of his music sheets.

“You should have thought of that last night when you were three seasons deep into a Roswell marathon, Dameron,” Ben quips.

Poe shoots him an accusatory look. “Hey, you watched the pilot with me and you enjoyed it. Don't pretend like you didn't.”

“True, but  _ I _ didn't think it was a documentary.”

A girl from a neighboring table shushes them loudly. Rey turns around and pierces her with a steely look. 

Minutes later, Poe leans in and whispers conspiratorially.

“So do you think they're... you know...  _ among us _ ?” He wiggles his eyebrows. “The  _ aliens _ ?”

Ben contemplates letting the question go unanswered, but it’s impossible to walk away from the opportunity to mess with his gullible friend. 

“In a way, we’re all a little bit alien. They say nearly half of the atoms in our bodies could have formed beyond the Milky Way and travelled to our solar system on intergalactic winds.”

Poe processes the information with alarm, eyes darting between Ben and his own hands, as if his entire perception of life had just shifted on a fundamental level. “ _ Bro. _ ”

Rose abandons her spreadsheet in favor of tuning into the conversation, glancing worriedly at Poe. “I think you broke him,” she tells Ben.

“Don't worry, man. If an alien sixty-five million light years away is looking at us through a telescope right now, he's looking at the dinosaurs.”

Poe’s horrified frown deepens. Next to him, Rey cocks an eyebrow. “So you're saying I’m a star?”

“I'm saying that every atom was once part of a star.” Ben sits up, turning to face her. “All the elements in your body — carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, the entire periodic table, in fact, were processed inside of an ancient star that eventually exploded. So you’re actually a dead star. Stardust.”

Rey’s smile dims. “That's a little sad.”

Before Ben has a chance to respond, the girl from before shushes them again and Rey’s disappointed frown turns to one of annoyance. 

“It’s not like this is the library,” she whispers, rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to her book. 

Ben doesn’t realize he’s staring until he turns to the side and notices Rose smiling pointedly at them. He quirks an eyebrow in question — she shrugs. He shakes his head, silently asking her to drop it, and Rose nods, returning to her studies. 

One last glance at Rey confirms that she’s scowling at her notes. An idea begins to take shape. He feels bold and a little reckless as he rips a piece of paper from his notebook and jots down the verses that had sprung in his mind. When he’s done, he slips it surreptitiously under Rey’s textbooks. With a satisfied smirk, Ben focuses his attention on his work. 

Rey notices it later as she shuffles her worksheets into a neat pile and gathers her books. Her eyes soften as she reads, lips pulling up at the corners. 

_ There are galaxies within us _

_ And you are the brightest star _

_ In all _

_ Of mine _

✨

“Tell me a truth.”

“I feel really lost sometimes. Like I’m being pulled in a hundred different directions, not all of them good. Sometimes it’s… hard to tell the difference.” Ben sighs. Something cold and oily coils in his stomach when he thinks about the recruiter who has been hounding him to join his company after graduation. It dissipates when Rey laces their hands together. “Tell me a lie,” he asks. 

“I’ll never be here for you. Or help you figure things out. Or fight whoever dares to try to pull you under.” 

✨

“Gentleman, ladies — we’re hosting a rager tomorrow!” Poe announces when he barges into the student lounge, Kaydel and Finn in tow.

Kaydel’s look is glacial. “ _ Excuse you _ , Dameron— it’s going to be an elegant soirée of refined conversation and expensive, themed cocktails. If I see  _ one _ keg entering the premises, I will castrate you in your sleep.”

Poe pales. “Elegant soirée, got it.” To Finn, he whispers, _ ‘what's a soirée?’ _ . A shrugs is all he gets in response.

“It's the perfect way to celebrate the end of midterms.” Kaydel beams. Skipping to where Rey is sitting, she says, “Rey-bae, I’ll need your help with the decorations. I’m thinking Prohibition Era for the theme.”

Rey’s smile is tight-lipped and doesn’t reach her eyes, but her tone is jovial. “Of course, K.” Kaydel notices, but doesn’t comment. She gives Rey’s arm a comforting squeeze and walks over to the other side of the room to discuss pyrotechnics with Snap and Tai.

Ben watches the scene unfold from his spot on the couch, choosing not to interfere lest he be saddled with any party planning responsibilities. He eyes Rey worriedly — she’s eating a family sized box of Lucky Charms, popping cereal into her mouth distractedly. She has a habit of picking out the marshmallows and leaving the loops for him, because she knows they’re his favorite. Ben wills her to meet his eyes, tapping her on the leg, but she didn't budge. Whatever’s bothering her, she doesn’t feel like sharing it with him just yet.

“Hey Benji, how do you organize a space party?” asks Hux, who had just walked into the room and joined the group. His self-satisfied smirk grows into a wide smile, making his pasty white face look a tad more diabolical than usual. “You  _ planet _ !” 

Ben is used to Hux’s jokes, they’ve been a constant fixture in his life since the day they met and usually resulted in Ben hitting back with thinly veiled insults, but Hux’s last interruption is still fresh on his mind.

“You know, light travels faster than sound. That is why some people seem bright until they speak.” Ben points at Hux. “Case in point.”

He can feel Rey quietly shaking with laughter beside him and it makes him feel better than even Hux’s annoyed frown. 

✨

“Tell me a truth.” Her voice is heavy with sleep. 

Ben is too tired to think and barely able to speak, but he somehow manages to say, “I have a crush on somebody.” He thinks he hears Rey gasp, but his brain is too foggy to register it. He mumbles, “Tell me a lie.”

It’s a while before Rey answers. So long, in fact, that Ben is already asleep by the time she whispers, “I don’t.” 

✨

Ben leaves the auditorium feeling mentally drained. Astronomy is the hardest class in the year’s curriculum, and it thoroughly handed him his ass all semester long. He drags his feet all the way from the Science building to the dorms, dreaming of a hot shower and a nice meal and eight solid hours of sleep, if he’s lucky. He’s considering the pros and cons of dropping by the communal kitchen to heat up some leftovers when he opens the door and sees Rey sprawled on his bed, bright orange headphones covering her ears, head bopping to the sound of whatever song she’s listening to. 

“I have noodles!” is the first thing out of her mouth. She points to the steaming mugs on his bedside table with all the pomp and circumstance of someone presenting a gourmet meal. It’s cute. It’s really damn cute. 

“Nice,” he says gratefully as he takes off his jacket and drapes it over his desk chair. 

“How did it go?”

“Not bad, actually? I think I did okay.” Rey hands him his mug - it says  _ To Do List: Wake Up, Drink Coffee, Poop, Be Awesome _ and it was a gift from Rey for his twenty-second birthday. “Thanks, I’m starving.”

“Such a smart boy,” she teases, ruffling his hair. It’s getting too long. Rey often jokes that it’s almost long enough to braid. She digs into her noodles with gusto, her own mug an ugly purple thing with  _ I Don’t Give A Sip _ written in sparkly letters. 

He points at what she’s wearing. “Is that my shirt?”

Her answering smile is bright and shameless. “Laundry day,” she explains with a mouth full of noodles. 

Ben snorts.

“Plus,” she says after swallowing. “Yours are so much softer than mine.”

And it’s so unfair, the way she looks at him. It’s so unfair, the way she looks, warm and cosy in one of his oldest sweaters, one of his favourites, one that almost reaches her knees because she’s so much smaller than he is. It’s unfair, because he can’t do anything about it, like kiss her senseless and bury his face in the crook of her neck, but he loves it all the same. She smiles like she knows what he’s thinking, and Ben almost drops his mug. 

“Grubby little thief.”

He’s saved from Rey’s pillow attack by a knock on the door. Poe peeks his head in a moment later. 

“Hey guys! We’re gonna watch that Lady Gaga movie in the lounge, if you guys wanna join.” He turns to the person behind him — Hux — and asks, “What's it called again?”

“A Star is Born.”

“That's the one! What do you say?”

On the list of things he wants to do at the moment, that comes very close to last. Ben looks at Rey to make sure they’re on the same page before replying, “A new star is born in our galaxy every eighteen days. I’ll catch the next one.Thanks, though.”

“Told you he wouldn't go for it. The dude’s always on his period,” Hux snarks.

“Says the man who wouldn’t know how to find a clit with Google maps and a GPS system,” Rey bites back.

Booming laughs fill the room, none louder than Ben’s. 

✨

“Tell me a truth.”

“I have no idea what I’ll do once I graduate. But wherever I end up, I want you in my life.” Rey hums in agreement and he waits before asking, “Tell me a lie.”

“You’re not stuck with me for the rest of your life, Solo.” 

Her devilish smirk is enough to get his blood boiling. 

✨

Ben’s phone vibrates in his pocket. He fishes it out and sees a text from rose. 

_ Rey’s been MIA all day. It’s not like her. Any clue where she might be? _

_ I’m already on it, don’t worry. Thanks Rose.  _

He finishes typing and hits send before opening the large double doors and stepping inside the library. It’s late, so it’s quiet. There are a couple of stragglers still typing away on their laptops, sipping coffee that’s gone cold from styrofoam cups they're not allowed to bring in, but the night librarian is nowhere in sight to confiscate them. Ben finds her ensconced in an alcove by the large bay windows, head in her arms, face hidden from view. He walks over. 

It wasn’t hard to figure out where she’d gone. The universe has the Great Attractor — an enormous gravitational force in intergalactic space that draws the Milky Way, Andromeda and all the nearby galaxies closer to it; Ben has Rey. It’s a similar phenomenon, and just as inevitable.

She doesn’t look up when he reaches her but she must sense that it’s him because she says, “I'm failing, Ben. I’m a failure,” her voice raspy. 

It punches a whole straight through his chest, to hear her talk like this. Rey is the strongest person he knows, but she has a tendency to bottle things up until there’s no other option but to explode. He knows this about her, has been there multiple times when it happened, has been the voice of reason and common sense when her insecurity showed its ugly head. She’s his best friend and he hates to see her like this. But he knows how to handle it. How to help her. Just like she knows how to help him when his own demons threaten to pull him under. 

He sits down on the empty seat next to her, tugs on her arms and pulls her knees between his legs so she’s facing him and has no other option but to look him in the eye. 

“Is this about the exam today?” 

Rey nods, pouting. “It’s not good enough. I didn’t do well enough.” 

“You can make it up. Talk to your professor. I know Dr Kanata is very reasonable. She’s done it for other students and you’re one of her favorite. Hey,” He cups her chin, holding her in place when she tries to look away. “You can do this. You’re already doing it. Juggling work, a degree, living abroad all by yourself. You’re a goddamn superhero.” There’s the ghost of a smile in the corner of her mouth. 

Ben continues. “And here’s a truth for you. No matter how many universes exist out there, you are not a failure in any of them. I should know, it's my area of expertise, after all.”

Rey snorts. “Me, or the universe?”

“Both, smartass.” He tries to poke her where he knows she’s ticklish, but she traps his hand in both of hers instead. They’re warm and soft and so much smaller than his. Her eyes are wide and bright and alive, not quite as lost and desperate as they had been when he arrived. It feels like a turning point, this moment. Two stars, finally ready for collision. 

“Rey… what you said. Back at the party, when we first met. Years ago. Do you still feel that way?”

She doesn’t hesitate when she says, “No. No, I never did. I was just scared, I think. Still am.” She doesn’t look it. Not with the way she’s looking at him, full of warmth and trust and light.

This is it. Ben takes a deep, steadying breath. “Tell me a truth.” 

“I would like to kiss you. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a really long time.” she confesses. “I want to kiss you forever.” It’s his turn and she knows it, so she smiles and says, “Tell me a lie.”

“I don’t love you.”

The words echo between them. They communicate everything they’re feeling with a look. Words are superfluous, because people like them — who study the universe and know how infinitely finite life was — don’t look for promises, but they still never fail each other. And anyway, it’s been a long time coming. They’re ready. 

When Rey holds his face between her hands and crashes their lips together, Ben has never been more certain of where his life is going, even as the universe careens towards cosmic doom.

✨  _ Two years later  _ ✨

“Tell me a truth.”

“There isn't a single universe out there in which I’m not irrevocably in love with you, Rey Johnson.” He smiles, all teeth and simples. “Tell me a lie.” 

“My answer is no.” 

With a breathless laugh, Ben slips the engagement ring on her finger. Engraved on the inside are the words:  _ we are stardust _ .

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still in a post-novelization haze and I needed some tooth-rotting fluff. I hope nobody got cavities. 
> 
> You can find me on Twitter & Tumblr @galacticidiots!


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